Morning journal and courier., 1887-05-30
TRINITY M. E. CHURcH.

TRINITY M. E. CHURCH.
 "Revelations of the Divine Courts sl
 The Laws of the Lord Versus tho
 Law of the Land's-Third Sermon o1
 the Series on ss1'he lHome,, by Rev 1 Dr. Reed.
 There was very large attendance at the
 Trinity M. B. church last evening on the oc.
 casion of Rev. Dr. Reeds third sermon on l The Home." Dr. Reed selected as the basis
 of his discourse the text from Matt 19, G.
 What therefore God hath joined together
 let not man put asunder." After alluding | to the delicate character of the subject an-
 nouncsd for the evening and the great diff culty of treating it 80 as not to give offense | to good taste in the presence of promiscu- ] ous audience, Dr. Reed spoke in substance as follows: That society is now passing through l period of transition is proposition which few acquainted with the drift of modern thought in relation to the great social, poli- tical and moral questions of the day will deny. The evidence is manifold and con- fronts us from every quarter. We see it in the stir and ferment of the worlds intellec- tual life. in the spirit of inquiry at present abroad in the earth and which seems to irn- pregnate the very air we breathe. It is to be observed in the freedom with which the opinions, beliefs and modes of action of men are being discussed, and in the boldness with which laws, doctrines
 
 past are being inter1ogated as to their claims upon the men and women of to-day We perceive it in the restlessness of certain par ties under the yoke of laws and customs which as yet society is by no means ready to abandon.
 Out of these transitions good may come, but in them also are large dangers against which, precaution should be taken, lest in the hurried impulse of change the wisest and best of known institutions be sacrificed and the most sacred virtues be discarded. Par ticularly is this true of relationship so sa- cred, so fundamental as the married rela- tion.
 Here Dr. Reed proceeded to set forth the facts and figures gathered by long and labor ious research with respect to the frequency with which American homes are being de- stroyed through the sundering of the mari tai tie, paying especial attention to the di- yorce statistics of the New England States,
 "So fearful,'' said the speaker, ''is the de- moralization of public sentiment as to the binding character of the marriage relation, so frequent has divorce become that it is not too much to say that state of things has already been reached appalling in it's awful significance, which ought to make the cheek shame which our forefathers never dreamed could ever be, and which was hardly surpassed even in Pagan Rome until the corruption and extravaganza of her emperors had opened the food gates of that stream of vice and crime before which at last it's empire fell, never to rise again; state of things not sur passed even in France during that dreadful saturnalia of vice, that volcanic upheaval of society, that delirium of blood and carnage known in history as the French revolution; 8 state of things which if continued will re- suit in the complete demoralization of mar riage, the plotting out of private virtue and the enthronement of vice."
 In proof of these assertions and to show that he spoke not as mere alarmist, Dr. Reed proceeded to set forth the facts upon which his conclusions had been based, show ing from the divorce laws of every State in the Union how widely the laws of the land diverged from the law of God with respect to the sundering of the marital tie and as- serting that in hardly State in the Union were these laws in harmony with the law of God as reaffrmed by his son Jesus Christ Some of the States recognized not less than sixteen causes for divortium vinculo, with privilege of remarriage.
 Some of these causes were abominations in the sight of God and more fully justifying absolute divorce; others, however, were abso- lutely trivial in character, and such as honest people should be ashamed to put forward as grounds even for separation a mensa ct thoro, much more for absolute divorce, for illustra- tion of which Mr. Reed cited the famous Omnibus clause'' of Conn.,, repealed in 1878, under which hundreds of men and women went out of the married estate-generally to enter into it again, and at once-who ought to have blushed for shame at the triviality of the causes alleged. l
 In showing the increase in the frequency of divorce Dr. Reed furnished the following statistics: l
 1. That while in 1860 the ratio of divorces to marriages in Vermont had been 1 to g, in 1878 the ratio stood to IA. Massachu- l setts, 1860, to 51; in 1878, to 21. Rhode l s naotieat, 'Gsi 1860, to IA; in is75 I to 10. In some years the ratio had been one to every eight.
 9 That bad as was this showing, disgrace full as it was, it was yet far short of the truth, the records showing that many who ! applied for divorce were refused, the court records showing that of those applying fully l one fourth were denied, while many more ! are dissuaded by their lawyers from making ! appeal What 8 spectacle for Christian | land What world of misery is here un- covered! Misery which no human plummet l can fathomi
 B. Statistics show that nearly all the l 'sfools," s'idiots," '1unatics," ''incompata- | bles,' as the law mercitully classes them, l remarry almost immediately, which fact l would go to prove that there were in the ! world enormous number of "fools," ''idiots'' and the like, else the parties di- ] vorced would De conpelled 10 remaln III Sln- gle blessedness. l
 In discussing the causes of dissolutions of l the marriage bond, Dr. Reed specified the l following:
 1. Nasty, ill-advised, ill-considered mar riages. In treating which point the speaker l adverted strongly to the present loose, un- l wise customs prevalent in society and sane l toned by minimizing parents.
 2. The woful influence of strong drink
 3. The failure of parties to treat each oth- 1 er as in the days before marriage.
 4. Nasty, ungovernable tempers, silly de- ! termination to have the last word and the | pride which prevents the asking for forgive l ness when wrongs have been inflicted. ]
 D. Want of religion in the family life
 As to remedies, the speaker earnestly ad- l vocated the fresh and strong influence of the l eternal law of God with respect to divorce; l the creation of truly Christian public sen ] timent, and the changing of laws where such l changes were imperatively demanded: and l closed with an appeal for larger exercise | in the home of the ''love that thinketh no | evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but in the l truth which beareth all things, believeth all | things, and which never faileth." as the in | separable condition of happy domestic life.
 Enterta1nmenIs.
 GRAND OPERA HOUSE.